Abstract:

This study addresses the problem of the assessment of child molesters. The research questions in this study specifically address the assessment of child molester personality and its relationship to demographic, personal, criminal offense, and treatment progress variables.The purpose of the study was to replicate cluster analyses done with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) in child molester populations using the revised and re-nonmed Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), and also, to identify other variables that are associated with particular profile patterns in child molesters.This study examined the archival records of 91 adult male child molesters who were involved in a communitybased sexual abuse treatment program between 1990 and 1993. Information analyzed included the MMPI-2, demographic, personal, and criminal offense data obtained from the child molesters' treatment files, and therapist ratings on the Treatment Progress Rating Scale which is an 11-point scale based on behaviors that the child molester reveals in treatment.The data from the MMPI-2 scales were cluster analyzed, yielding four homogeneous profile subgroups. Three of these four subgroups closely resembled those found in earlier MMPI research with child molesters. Discriminant analysis and chi square analyses were used to examine variables that differentiated the profile groups of child molesters derived in the cluster analysis. Results indicated that the derived groups significantly differed in terms of their reported history of having been sexually abused as a child. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the Scheffe procedure revealed that child molesters with within normal limits MMPI-2 profiles were less likely to report a history of childhood sexual abuse than were child molesters with more elevated profiles. ANOVA with repeated measures was used to analyze child molester progress in treatment as a function of MMPI-2 profile group. Although the analysis revealed that significant treatment progress was made for the overall sample, the groups did not significantly differ in terms of their treatment progress.